[Oonagh]

I had my first severe attack in over a year. I was sick for days, and couldn't figure out what I ate. I don't vary my diet a lot, so I was really puzzled. Then I had a brilliant idea - not eat, drink!

I had run out of Crystal light & bought Wal Mart's generic without checking the label. The ingredients were totally different, and as I did some research to see if any might have triggered such a bad attack, I read that while US maltodextrin used to be safe, but since corn is in such high demand for ethanol fuel, some manufacturers have started producing it from wheat, like many overseas producers use.

Happily, when I went to the store again, I discovered that on the newer packaging for Crystal light (they had diff flavors with new and old labels) they say Gluten Free in big letters.

I checked other Kraft products, and on a number of things with updated packaging they also had the gluten free labels (where applicable).

I noticed an older post where someone was trying to figure out if the chips she ate made her sick, maltodextrin was one of the ingredients and it may have been the culprit.

It reminded me to check labels more often, after 3 years, I got a bit lazy about it - I guess you can never relax with this lousy disease. My dad has had ulcerative colitis since the 50's and was lactose intolerant (until they removed his colon 4 years ago). I thought he had it bad, but he thinks his was a lot easier to deal with than coeliac.

BTW, if you want to travel to a gluten-free friendly place, Ireland is pretty cool. Coeliacs are a lot more common there and bread etc is readily available. The restaurants frequently have glutenfree options - staff doesn't say "huh what?" when you ask for gluten-free options. My folks local grocery stores have whole gluten-free sections. I stock up when I visit. Their bread is much better than what I have found here.

[cruelshoes]

Maltodextrin is gluten free. If maltodextrin is from a wheat source, it must be declared by law. Even if it is original sourced from wheat, maltodextrin is so highly procesed it is a gluten free ingredient.

http://glutenfreeliv...hp#maltodextrin

Quote

Maltodextrin
Maltodextrin is gluten free. It can be made from a variety of starches, including corn, potato, rice or wheat. However the source does not matter because maltodextrin is such a highly processed ingredient that the protein is removed, rendering it gluten free. If wheat is used to make maltodextrin, "wheat" will be appear on the label. Even in this case, the maltodextrin would be gluten free.

Hope you feel better.

[Oonagh]

cruelshoes, on Nov 16 2008, 08:24 AM, said:

Maltodextrin is gluten free. If maltodextrin is from a wheat source, it must be declared by law. Even if it is original sourced from wheat, maltodextrin is so highly procesed it is a gluten free ingredient.

http://glutenfreeliv...hp#maltodextrin


Hope you feel better.

the gluten-free site I was on (club celiac) said otherwise. I also quit drinking the stuff and my attack cleared up. This kind of conflicting info is why I seldom vary the foods I eat, I am so tired of trying to figure out what really is or isn't safe to eat.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

If they derive maltodextrin from barley (which I THINK is unusual, but am not sure), they would NOT be required to list that on the label.

[happygirl]

FF, you are right - it would be unusual. If it were made from barley or wheat, it wouldn't be considered maltodextrin, according to FDA rules.

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh...cfm?fr=184.1444

"Maltodextrin ((C6H10O5)n, CAS Reg. No. 9050-36-6) is a nonsweet nutritive saccharide polymer that consists of D-glucose units linked primarily by [alpha]-1-4 bonds and that has a dextrose equivalent (D.E.) of less than 20. It is prepared as a white powder or concentrated solution by partial hydrolysis of corn starch, potato starch, or rice starch with safe and suitable acids and enzymes."

[lovegrov]

Oonagh, there is no question whatsoever that wheat MUST be listed in maltodextrin. This was the law even before the allergen law took effect. The conflicting information you saw is, quite simply, wrong.

richard

[psawyer]

As Laura and Richard have noted, the single word "maltodextrin" on a product sold in the USA must refer to material derived from corn, rice or potato. This has been the FDA rule since at least 1983. Any source other than those three must be explicitly labeled, and that includes barley.

[cruelshoes]

I am glad you are feeling better.

Oonagh, on Nov 16 2008, 05:54 PM, said:

the gluten-free site I was on (club celiac) said otherwise. I also quit drinking the stuff and my attack cleared up. This kind of conflicting info is why I seldom vary the foods I eat, I am so tired of trying to figure out what really is or isn't safe to eat.

The list of foods to avoid on Club Celiac is riddled with errors. Some examples include distilled vinegar (distillation removes any gluten), andpotato chips (seasonings can contain gluten, but not always). Their forum is chock full of really nasty porn, too - I think I need to go wash my brain out. You would be much better off using the safe/forbidden food lists on this site.
http://www.celiac.com/categories/Safe-Glut...3B-Ingredients/

Fiddle-Faddle, on Nov 16 2008, 06:14 PM, said:

If they derive maltodextrin from barley (which I THINK is unusual, but am not sure), they would NOT be required to list that on the label.

Regardless of its source, Maltodextrin is a gluten-free ingredient. Processing renders it gluten-free. If is comes from wheat, it has to be labeled as such, but it does not contain gluten.

http://www.childrenshospital.org/clinicals...50Flevel83.html

Quote

Previous questionable ingredients that are now rendered to be gluten-free are the following:

Maltodextrin
Glucose Syrup
Carmel Coloring
Citric Acid
Distilled Vinegars.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

I do see European brands of chocolate list "glucose syrup (from wheat)"--I assume (perhaps wrongly?) that there are celiacs who would react to that, even if it is supposed to be free from gluten.

They do say the same thing about wheat starch--that it is supposed to be gluten-free due to the processing, and in Europe, it is considered safe for celiacs, but aren't there celiacs who DO react to it, thereby indicating that it's not quite as gluten-free as they would like to think?

[cruelshoes]

Fiddle-Faddle, on Nov 17 2008, 04:48 AM, said:

I do see European brands of chocolate list "glucose syrup (from wheat)"--I assume (perhaps wrongly?) that there are celiacs who would react to that, even if it is supposed to be free from gluten.

They do say the same thing about wheat starch--that it is supposed to be gluten-free due to the processing, and in Europe, it is considered safe for celiacs, but aren't there celiacs who DO react to it, thereby indicating that it's not quite as gluten-free as they would like to think?

Gluten is the protein element of the wheat. If we break down the chemical structure of glucose syrup, it does not contain protein.

"The Gluten-free diet, A comprehensive resource guide" Shelley Case, author.

Quote

page: 53- "Glucose syrups are highly processed and purified in order to separate and remove the protein portion from the starch mixture. .... Although glucose syrup can be made from wheat, the processing renders it gluten free. This has been verified by scientists and research centers in Europe, Australia and other countries using the highly sensitive R5 ELISA tests."

Wheat starch is another animal entirely. It is much less processed than maltodextrin or glucose syrup. I have no doubt that many people react to that. I wouldn't touch it with a 39-1/2 foot pole.

Quote

Accuracy of "Gluten-Free" Labels
.
The legal definition of the phrase "gluten-free" varies from country to country. Current research suggests that for persons with celiac disease the maximum safe level of gluten in a finished product is probably less than 0.02% (200 parts per million) and possibly as little as 0.002% (20 parts per million).

Australian standards reserve the "gluten free" label for foods with less than 5 parts per million of gluten, as this is the smallest amount currently detectable.
.
As gluten-containing grains are processed,
more and more of the gluten is removed from them,
as shown in this simple processing flow:
.
Wheat Flour (80,000ppm) > Wheat Starch Codex (200ppm) > Dextrin > Maltodextrin > Glucose Syrup (<5ppm) > Dextrose > Caramel Color
.
Unfortunately, in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet defined the term gluten free as it appears on food labels.

Source

[Rya]

I just read an article in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association that discussed the shortcomings of two types of "highly sensitive" R5 ELISA assays. I'll provide more detailed info should anyone want it, but for those who are very sensitive to gluten, I would completely avoid anything that is derived from a gluten ingredient and rendered gluten-free. Why not be safe? If you are not highly sensitive, then consuming <5-10 ppm will likely not cause a reaction.

There's no evidence to support this concern, but I wonder how much damage celiacs are doing without realizing it. I.e. is consuming 5-10 ppm every now and then an issue even without a reaction? Regardless, though, I think in reality most of us couldn't be much more strict.

Back to the assays, they are developing a new one that can address the shortcomings of the old ones. If I recall correctly, the only shortfall was the ability to measure barley accurately (which was cited to be of most concern with determing if oats are not contaminated) and the protein fraction in ingredients derived from wheat such as dextrins (not maltodextrin).

[Yana]

I was told that maltodextrin, regardless of it's source is "Gluten Free". That Gluten is a protein, and maltodextrin is a sugar. That the reason some celiacs react to maltodextrin, specifically derived from wheat, is because many celiacs are also intolerant of other wheat products. So that, some celiacs and gluten intolerant people, are ok and others are not, it depends what else they're allergic to.

If you react to maltodextrin, the suggestion would be that unless its contaminated by something else, you may just simply be intolerant or sensitve to wheat products, as well as gluten.

[Lisa]

Yana, on Nov 19 2008, 06:53 PM, said:

I was told that maltodextrin, regardless of it's source is "Gluten Free". That Gluten is a protein, and maltodextrin is a sugar. That the reason some celiacs react to maltodextrin, specifically derived from wheat, is because many celiacs are also intolerant of other wheat products. So that, some celiacs and gluten intolerant people, are ok and others are not, it depends what else they're allergic to.

If you react to maltodextrin, the suggestion would be that unless its contaminated by something else, you may just simply be intolerant or sensitve to wheat products, as well as gluten.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dextrin

Maltodextrin can be derived from any starch. In the US, this starch is usually rice, corn or potato; elsewhere, such as in Europe, it is commonly wheat.

If it is maltodextrin is derived from wheat, it must be listed by US labeling law.

[new2glutenfree2]

Fiddle-Faddle, on Nov 17 2008, 05:48 AM, said:

I do see European brands of chocolate list "glucose syrup (from wheat)"--I assume (perhaps wrongly?) that there are celiacs who would react to that, even if it is supposed to be free from gluten.

They do say the same thing about wheat starch--that it is supposed to be gluten-free due to the processing, and in Europe, it is considered safe for celiacs, but aren't there celiacs who DO react to it, thereby indicating that it's not quite as gluten-free as they would like to think?

I HAD MY FIRST REACTION FROM ANYTHING IN A COUPLE YEARS, AFTER EATING 1 MENTOS. I WAS SOOOO SICK, IN FETAL POSITION EVEN, THEN THE D STARTED. IT WAS HORRIBLE. AFTER I STARTED FEELING SICK, I READ THE PACKAGE AND IT SAID "GLUCOSE SYRUP", DERIVED FROM WHEAT. SO WHO EVER SAYS THAT YOU WONT GET SICK FROM IT NEEDS TO TRY ONE AND SEE! DON'T EAT MENTOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[kenlove]

Guess I just don’t have the faith in:

1. Correct labeling being followed to the letter of the law.

2. Companies checking the source of the raw ingredients in their formulas.
They simply buy, for example, maltodextrin from a source in the US where they buy a host of other raw ingredients for whatever they make at the lowest possible price. Based on first hand experience, this is also very true for pharmaceutical companies as well as food producers.

3. I don't think the companies intentionally mislead us but I don't feel correct gluten-free labeling is a priority or an issue for them although obviously this is getting better as the "popularity" of celiac increases in the media. They do not take that extra step.




We are also so different and still so little is known.
I just won't eat anything with maltodextrin no matter how sure I am its gluten-free.
Every time I see something I want to try with it listed as an ingredient, and think of all the discussions here on the topic, I try it and am always sorry I did.

With caramel coloring about half the time I have a reaction and half the time no trouble. Even from the same product (with different batch numbers).

Never had any trouble with citric acid but I stay away from glucose syrup.

Maybe its something we all have to figure for ourselves and based on desires to try foods with these, what I feel are, questionable ingredients.
Ken